Sveum threatens to demote Castro, Rizzo

MILWAUKEE — Every time the Cubs walk into the visitors' clubhouse at Miller Park, they're greeted with a blast from the past.

The first office they pass has a framed Tribune sports page on the wall with a photo of an angry Moises Alou and a large headline reading "The Mitt Hits the Fan."

The reminder of the Cubs' Game 6 playoff loss in 2003, when they were five outs from the World Series, shows how far the franchise has fallen in the last 10 years.

This, too, can be a historic season in Cubs history, but for the wrong reasons.

Poor fundamentals, atrocious fielding, an inability to close out games and a lack of clutch hitting have been prevalent during the first three weeks of 2013, leading to a 5-12 record and a perplexed manager who threatened to send two of its biggest stars to the minors.

"If people keep playing like that, you have to find options," Sveum said before a 4-2 loss to the Brewers. "Give people playing time at Triple A to figure this stuff out."

But those two are the core of the team, the centerpieces of the rebuild.

"The bottom line is you've got to perform," Sveum repeated. "Whether they need more development or you decide all those kind of things … there's still that accountability. Many, many people throughout the history of the game (have been demoted). It's a performance-laden occupation. That's what makes the world go 'round. That's what makes this country what it is."

But the Cubs have marketed Rizzo and Castro as the future, so perhaps they feel invincible.

"I don't think anything is invincible if you're not performing," Sveum said. "That's still the one main ingredient that has to happen to win baseball games. Say what you want about everything, but everything has to be clicking and you have to perform.

"It's not about what we think can happen in three or four years from now. Guys have played a lot of baseball. It's time to perform on a consistent basis — not a good game and then three bad ones. That's not what we want. That's why there is player development. When guys are rushed to the big leagues, sometimes you see a lot of this stuff happen. That's why it's very important to play 500 minor league games."

Castro signed a seven-year extension last year, while Rizzo is considered a cornerstone at first. Neither is likely to get demoted, but Sveum's comments got everyone's attention.

"No one wants to go down to the minor leagues," said Rizzo, who is hitting .210 with six home runs. "Whatever happens happens. I'm sure this team is going to have a lot more transactions throughout the year. Guys are going to come and go. That's part of the game. You can't worry about being sent down. I've done it before and it never works out when you think about that. You've just got to go out and play."

Castro is hitting .301 but has four errors, including another costly one in Saturday's loss.

"I feel bad, those errors are making the team lose," Castro said. "That's why the team is losing, because of the errors. Just keep it together and work hard and it'll be all right."

Sveum said Castro's play at shortstop has been "very average" thus far.

"There have been some mental mistakes that you don't get to see much, but we see it, I see it," Sveum said. "So you've got to overcome all that and start becoming that prolific defensive shortstop that's there. But it's got to start happening on a consistent basis."

Sveum didn't blame all the Cubs' woes on those two, but it's obvious there will be no coddling of his young stars. The losses are getting "old," he said, and everyone must be accountable.

"When these things happen, the excuses start flying about certain things," Sveum said. "The bottom line is you have to perform."